Special Consideration
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: Carmen Tibideaux's thoughts on Rachel, Kurt, and on the New Directions at Nationals. She watches two stars shine bright and sees those that glimmer alongside them. Mentions of Klaine, Finchel, and Brittana.


**Special Consideration**

_Carmen __Tibideaux's __thoughts on Rachel, Kurt, and on the New Directions at Nationals. She watches two stars shine bright and sees those that glimmer alongside them. Mentions of Klaine, Finchel, and Brittana._

...

...

She'd fought it. Lord knew she'd tried to ignore that girl from McKinley High School.

Carmen had walked into that auditorium at William McKinley expecting to see the same half talent that she saw everywhere else. When Kurt Hummel first stepped out on stage, she had been disappointed to learn she was right. However, that boy blew her away and stole her heart with his performance of Not The Boy Next Door. She had known she wanted him in her personal class from the moment he ripped off his clothes and revealed those gold lamé pants. When he practically skipped off the stage, she'd wished for a brief moment (very brief, and she would never admit this aloud) that she could adopt the boy; he was so adorable.

Rachel Berry had not had the same effect on her. Carmen had encountered countless hopefuls who had stage fright when auditioning, even when they were seasoned professionals. Still, she was not impressed by what she had heard from Ms. Berry in her sixteen bars. The girl had talent, that was certain, but she obviously did not have what it took to make it on the stage. So Carmen left William McKinley knowing she'd found one star, but saying goodbye to another.

And then the calls started.

Fourteen calls.

And the gift baskets.

And the invitation to the National Show Choir Competition.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy muffins or edible flowers (though fruits cut in the shape of leaves and daisies were not on her list of preferable snacks), but the persistence was annoying. After visiting that high school, practically every time she stopped by her office there was some sort of reminder of Rachel Berry waiting for her. Carmen had had people who didn't make the cut try and appeal to her in the past, and she knew if she ignored them they eventually went away.

Except that Rachel Berry didn't go away. In fact, she showed up during one of Carmen's classes with a friend to _once again_ plea her case. Carmen was tired of this girl, tired of always being reminded of her. So she let Ms. Berry know exactly how she felt. Then her friend interjected and said "Rachel Berry is a pain in the ass" and Carmen's first thought was _"Wow, you should bring better back up."_

But, for the first time, that meeting with that persistent, annoying, infuriating, determined, hopeful girl left Carmen thinking. She considered, for more than a moment, actually letting Rachel Berry try out again. Except she couldn't, she realized. She didn't have any time to travel to Ohio, to McKinley, and listen to her sing again. But if their Glee club had made it to Nationals, then perhaps there really was more Rachel Berry had to offer than what Carmen had seen at her audition.

The National Show Choir Competition. Carmen wished she hadn't thrown the invitation out now that she was actually considering attending.

For a few days, she went back and forth with herself, arguing the pros and cons of allowing Rachel Berry special consideration. But, and this she had to admit, Rachel reminded Carmen of herself. That young girl had so much spark and drive. Now, Carmen didn't feel any of the warm emotions for Rachel that she did when she thought of Kurt. Instead, there was this expectation inside of her.

Kurt was a twinkling star on the horizon, hard to see with surrounding light, but his star was rising, getting brighter all the way. Carmen wanted to lift him into the air, polish him until he shown brighter than any star in the sky called Broadway. Rachel was rising, perhaps a bit slower than Kurt, but shining so bright she made Carmen's eyes hurt. And maybe that was why she was so hesitant to give Rachel another try. Rachel could burn herself up trying too hard.

Kurt needed help shining. Rachel needed help dimming down a bit.

Just before she left for Chicago, Carmen bought herself a ticket to Nationals. She would be late, but with any luck she would arrive in time to see what Rachel Berry had in store.

Then the day arrived. Carmen sang at The Lyric Opera to great acclaim, and then she made her way to the Nationals competition. Even as she entered the building, Carmen wasn't sure what she was expecting. Perhaps she'd lifted her hopes based on Rachel's gusto alone and the girl really didn't have much to offer. All of this would feel like a waste of time then.

At least the matter would be settled once and for all after tonight.

As she entered the main auditorium, a voice was ringing out loud and crystal clear in a rendition of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me." Carmen recognized the voice before she'd seen the soloist: Rachel Berry. And as Carmen took her seat, Rachel belted out the lyrics with more feeling than ever.

When the song ended, the entire audience stood the give her a standing ovation. Carmen had only seen the tail end of the performance, but with the reaction it was getting, she wished she'd seen the whole thing.

The lights raised as Rachel hurried off stage and Carmen caught sight of a familiar face. One of the three boys who had given back up harmonies to Rachel's solo caught Carmen's memory. He had never tried out for NYADA, that much she knew, but then how did she know him?

Just as the opening notes of the next song began to play, she remembered. When she had gone to McKinley high, he'd sat in the auditorium along with Mr. Schuester and Rachel Berry during Kurt's audition. She'd only looked at him once the entire time she was there.

He dashed across the stage with the other boys as the girls began singing and danced behind a remarkably tall young man. This tall boy was familiar as well. He'd come in to the auditorium at McKinley to watch Rachel's audition. Carmen cast her gaze over the group as a whole during the performance, taking in what she could of them from this show.

Their dancing was not the greatest. It could use some work. The background singers blended rather well, but one of the boys was a tad pitchy. The tall boy was Rachel's partner in dancing and Rachel looked so happy to be in his arms that Carmen knew immediately that Rachel liked this boy.

The thought occurred to Carmen that she hadn't seen Kurt yet. He was in this club as well, but she didn't see him on stage. And then suddenly there he was, dancing up the steps and down to center stage with the boy Carmen had recognized before.

She really couldn't find anything to complain about when it came to how their voices harmonized. A million ideas for duets popped into her mind and she had to quell them immediately. Only Kurt would be her student. She would have to find him a proper partner though, because some of those duet ideas had been fabulous.

But she hoped that boy auditioned for NYADA sometime. The way he moved on stage, he was a born performer. He was a bit crazy, but there was passion there and so much enthusiasm that Carmen felt herself getting excited along with him. He would need help though - at a glance, Kurt was much more suited for Broadway than his friend, but there was a lot of potential.

She shook her head and looked at the group again. There was no point picking prospective students from this group. That was not why she'd come.

Her foot tapped on the ground to the beat of the music.

She couldn't help but smile as she watched Kurt and Rachel with their glee club. Rachel seemed practiced to perfection, smooth motions and fluid steps. Kurt was almost her exact opposite. He seemed to bounce around the stage with an uncontainable glee (no pun intended) and there was a dramatic flair to everything he did that was purely _him_. She couldn't wait to teach him next year. She couldn't wait for both of them.

They had so much to show the world.

Carmen wasn't sure when she realized it - perhaps it was when two girls joined Kurt and his friend at the front and they all sang together - but once she had, it was as obvious as the sun rising in the morning: Kurt and this boy did not just match well with their voices, they were together romantically as well. There was an energy about them. They sang toward the audience but they gravitated toward each other. Even when they weren't choreographed near each other, they seemed to lean together.

There was a similar, if not quite as strong, feeling between Rachel and the tall boy. It was there between the two girls who had performed with Kurt at the front of the group. And in the group as a whole she felt it too, with the audience.

New Directions was not the greatest performing group Carmen had ever seen. She had been on dozens of stages performing hundreds of songs and shows. Yet, with the New Directions, she felt sucked into their world as they sang and danced. It was obvious to her that they were all very comfortable with each other; that they had been through a lot together. They were a hodgepodge of people; all shapes and sizes from seemingly every walk of life but with one singular goal.

This was not a show choir she was watching. This was a family.

That was why they worked so well; why they came off looking polished and refined even when someone fumbled a step or hit a wrong note. They were having fun and were thus fun to watch. They made you feel good inside.

So when their number ended and everyone was once again on their feet with praise, Carmen stood as well. She clapped and whistled to let them know she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. She felt proud of them as if they were her own, and she felt excited for the next school year.

After feeling all of that emotion, the other groups fell flat. They were all good, but none of them got to Carmen like New Directions had. She didn't need to stay for the awards ceremony. She knew who had won; at least for her, and if the judges couldn't see it too then that was their loss.

By the time she walked out of that auditorium, she didn't need any more persuading. Rachel Berry would get the special consideration she'd asked for. Carmen already had big plans for her.

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_fin_.

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Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!


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